After the Nightmare Comes a Dream
by mdmnsieurcldte
Summary: In which the first unit's leader has a nightmare and ends up sitting on the couch in Soma's room. [post GEB storyline] (Actually heavier than it sounds.)


**NIGHTMARE**

It was almost midnight and Soma was just about to retreat to his bed when someone knocks on his door. Groaning, Soma decides to ignore the knocking but finds himself unable to bear the annoyingly loud knocking which seemed to grow louder every second. Finally losing his patience, Soma harshly opens the door only to see his leader – Cello – standing in front of his doorway hugging a pillow and with nothing but a Pansy hoodie and shorts on.

"I had a nightmare," Cello explains.

Soma sighs and walks aside, allowing the slightly younger girl to enter his room. It wasn't a new scenario, after all, since it seemed as if the girl thought it was the best idea to go to his room whenever she had a nightmare – which was, oddly enough, happening more often the past weeks.

Cello makes herself comfortable and sits on the sofa while Soma walks over to the small fridge and fishes out a can of strawberry juice which his leader seemed to like and forced him to keep a stack of. He tosses the can to her and fetches himself a can of beer before positioning himself across the girl; leaning against the counter which divided the bed and the small living room.

Cello opens the can of juice and takes a sip, slightly cringing as the sudden sweetness overflows into her mouth before taking another sip and placing it on the table in front of her. She looks up and stares right at Soma who stares back, silently sipping his beer.

"Soma," Cello begins as she looks at Soma who was clad in only his trademark yellow shirt, minus the necktie and hoodie which were discarded on the counter he was leaning on. Cello looks up, allowing herself to stare at the platinum blond hair Soma usually kept hidden under his hood. Soma simply gives a light groan to signal her to continue. "Have I ever told you that I liked your eyes?"

Soma almost chokes on his drink at his leader's statement. He was about to retort back something along the lines of _are you drunk_ and _is the juice finally getting to you_ before deciding against it as he sees the rare serious look on her usually happy face.

"You know, don't you, Soma?" Cello says, her eyes downcast and somewhat gloomy. "How I hated my eyes – how I hated being different from the other kids," Cello begins, pointing at her bright red eyes.

Soma nods, knowing full well how the girl felt. He remembers exactly how the girl had broken down after months of keeping it to herself. How she had kept herself in check. He had gotten a few light punches from it, after all. "You had it tough – we both did,"

Cello smiles at this and starts playing with the now empty can of strawberry juice. "When I look back on it, it still amazes me but at the same time, it doesn't. Weird right?" she asks, a sad smile gracing her face as she looks up to him. "Do you know what came across my mind when Prof. Sakaki first told the two of us about it?"

Soma shakes his head, urging her to continue. " _That explains_ a lot _of things_ ," The buster blader nods and looks back on that day.

 _They were going about on their day, completing mission after mission before retreating to Prof. Sakaki's laboratory to visit Shio. It was always the same routine. That day, coincidently, both Soma and Cello ended up visiting Shio at the same time, the first time ever since the Aragami girl arrived. The Aragami girl was eating when she suddenly notices Soma and Cello before her face brightens up._

" _Soma! Cello!" the girl greets them. Cello grins at the girl and lightly ruffle her_ 'hair.' _"You came Cello! Are you here to eat with us?" Shio asks, pulling the girl towards her bucket which contained Aragami cores._

 _Cello gives Soma a glance before smiling at the girl. "I don't eat Aragami, have you forgotten, Shio? And neither does Soma,"_

 _Shio tilts her head. "Oh, Soma's Aragami told me he's not hungry. But-," the girl pauses and looks up to Cello with her big innocent eyes which seemed to look right into you. "_ Your _Aragami wants to eat, Cello,"_

 _Cello's and Soma's eyes widen at the girl's statement. The two God Eaters look at each other before Soma's gaze turns to Sakaki who was watching the whole scene. "Sakaki," Soma says, knowing that the professor was hiding something from them._

 _Sakaki looks at the curious Soma and the equally curious and confused Cello. "Oh, I guess it's high time I explain, is it? It's not that I wanted to hide such important information from you people; especially from you, Cello, but I didn't want to say anything until I had solid proof," the professor begins. "Although, you should have noticed the signs; Aragami not preying on you, you sensing them from afar, a longer burst time-,"_

 _Cello starts shaking, having an idea of what the professor meant yet not wanting to hear it. "You – both you and Soma are closer to Aragami than normal people,"_

"I didn't even know my parents, then suddenly, I find out I'm half Aragami? Wow," Cello says, sarcasm lacing her voice. She looks up and sees Soma's slightly confused look. "Oh! I didn't tell you? I grew up in the orphanage – well, at least until they threw me out when I was 14 for 'bad behavior,'" Cello explains.

"Oh," Soma says, unable to find anything else to say.

Cello raises her hands in defense. "Don't get me wrong, Soma. I didn't do anything. It was mostly self-defense on my part but of course, they sided with the _normal_ ones. Hm, I guess if I look back on it, it kind of hurt but then again, I should have expected that kind of response, right? Back then, I thought; ' _if they didn't need me, why should I need them? If they can't accept me, then that's their problem. I'll love myself. I'll take care of myself,'_ "

"People are afraid of things that are unfamiliar to them; things that go beyond normal," Soma says, thinking back on his own experience of being singled out for being different.

"Though something good did come out from me being half Aragami," Cello says, a slight teasing look gracing her face. "It brought me closer to you, Soma," Cello says before bursting out laughing at the slightly shocked look Soma was giving her.

Cello quiets down, wiping a stray tear from her face. "I'm joking, I'm joking. I'm sorry,"

"Damn you," Soma mutters, looking away to hide his slightly blushing face. Cello just laughs at this and Soma finds himself smiling at the sight.

Cello quiets down again and her expression turns serious. "After that, Prof. Sakaki explained to me how I came to be. Apparently, my mother was one of the scientists who worked under your mother; Prof. Gauche. According to him, she was a brilliant scientist who worked and observed her closely. However, she was also somewhat ambitious. When the Project got shut down, what they didn't know was that she had secretly taken one of the P73 Bias Factor to inject it into herself before her due date,"

Soma simply nods, taking in Cello's words. "Of course, she didn't make it; well, both she and my father. I was the only one who survived, being born with the Bias Factor in me. Apparently, my mother had a sister and I was sent to her. Of course, after hearing about what my mother had done…," she trails off and shrugs. "You get the idea,"

"You grew up to be mad," Soma says, a light teasing smile gracing his lips.

Cello sticks out her tongue at him before laughing. When she calms down, she continues speaking. "But you know? I don't really blame her for what she did. I don't really want to admit it, but having these Aragami 'senses' has saved my life more times than I can count,"

-ooo-

"You know, you've never really told me what your nightmare was," Soma says before realizing what he had just said. He looks at Cello who just smiles and hugs the pillow tighter.

After a few minutes, Soma was about to tell her to forget what he had just said when she begins talking. "They're usually different nightmares," she begins. "And usually, they disappear after a few nights. However, these past few weeks…," Cello trails off.

"You don't have to tell me anything," Soma says.

Cello shakes her head. "No. You deserve to know since I'm always bothering you whenever I get my nightmares," she says. "I still remember the first one. It was after Lindow disappeared. It seemed so real, you know? As if I was in Lindow's position; as if I was the one who fought the new-type Vajras and that I was the one who got trapped. I kept fighting; slashing and hacking. And then, just as I was about to get devoured by the Aragami, everything turns into black. I'm back to my own self and yet, I felt so small. And then, I hear myself talking. Blaming myself for leaving Lindow alone. For being weak and scared. For not being able to do anything. I didn't tell this to anyone, you know, Soma? But the day after that incident, I found myself despising myself. I blamed myself for what had happened to both Lindow and Alisa. I thought that, if I had only noticed that something was wrong, I could have prevented it, you know that?"

"It wasn't your fault. If it was anyone's, it was my father's," Soma says.

Cello gives him a small smile before continuing. "The second one didn't come until after I became leader. This one was a little different from the first one. After having this dream, I find myself waking up, wet with sweat and tears falling from my eyes. It was a dream of all of you being devoured, and not just you in the First Unit, but including the 2nd and 3rd units as well. Even Gen, Hibari and Tsubaki. You were all getting devoured and I was only standing there; watching. I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything. I wanted to scream, to shout, to tell them to stop, but no voice would come out. Bit by bit, all of you were devoured and no one was left but me. Slowly, I could feel myself melting into a thick pool of nothingness, all the while hearing your screams, haunting me; telling me that I had abandoned you…," she trails off and pauses to calm herself as a few drops of tears spill from her eyes. Soma looks away, unable to bear the sight of his usually fearless though a little idiotic leader breaking down.

"But you know what, Soma?" Cello asks, a few moments after. "That isn't the worst part of it. Sometimes, when my nightmares would appear whenever I faced a difficult opponent or had a really stressful day, they'd rise up a notch. _I_ 'd be the one _eating_ you – all of you. As if I had become full Aragami and that I was devouring each and every one of you. And you know the worst part of it? I was _enjoying_ every single bit of it. I'm sick. I'm sick. I'm sick. It sickens me. I disgust myself," Cello chants to herself, her hands covering her ears and her tears spilling from her eyes.

Soma turns away at the sight of his leader breaking down in front of him. The usual cheerful and devil-may-care attitude she had was long gone and was replaced by a weak and vulnerable girl. He closes his eyes and waits for Cello's sobbing to die down before disappearing completely. "I'm sorry. This is so out of character for me," Cello says, her voice hoarse from her sobbing, silently thanking whoever it is who made all the private rooms absorb sound so that they're not heard from the outside, but not exactly soundproof.

Soma shakes his head and turns to look at her. "It's…okay," he says, unable to find the right words to comfort the girl and ends up giving her a somewhat awkward grimace. Luckily, it somehow made the girl better as she let out a light chuckle. "Hey," Soma frowns. "I'm trying here,"

"And that's all I need, Soma. You trying to comfort me is enough," Soma didn't know why but he felt sad yet at the same time irritated at how contradicting Cello's words and expression are. It bothered him but he decided to let it go.

Cello, on the other hand, ached as the words left her. She knew, after all, that even after everything they've been through, even after Soma realized that what he had felt for Shio was familial love, there was no way for him to reciprocate her feelings. She didn't want to ruin the friendship they had formed and so she kept her feelings to herself – doesn't mean though that Sakuya, and Lindow didn't know about it.

Soma lightly chuckles as he watch Cello scrunch her face while unconsciously playing with the tips of her bangs – a sign that she was preoccupied with her thoughts. Soma didn't know when did he start watching Cello, finding out her little habits like biting her lower lip when her health's low, or how she always pinches the cheek of the one she link-aids, or how she always kept a stock of the First Love juice she seemed to like so much. It was these little quirks that completed her. At first, it was simply him watching over her so that she didn't end up hurting herself like she did during their first Hannibal mission. However, this "mission watching" soon became a did even during regular times.

"If you keep thinking like that, you're head's bound to burst. Idiots like you shouldn't think hard, you know," Soma lightly teases.

Cello frowns. "I'm not an idiot!" she pouts before breaking into a curious expression. "How did you know I was thinking, Soma?"

Soma gets taken aback by the question. ' _I was watching you_ ' doesn't really seem like an appropriate answer. He looks at Cello's expectant expression and feels his cheeks burn. He quickly turns his head away. "No reason,"

"Hm," Cello mutters before looking at the clock located near the door. "Shoot! It's almost 3AM. I'm sorry for keeping you this late, Soma. You should go to sleep," she says as she gets up from the couch and walks towards the kitchenette to throw her juice can.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Soma asks just as she was about to open the door.

Cello turns and gives him a smile. "Of course. Good night Soma. See you later," she says before she closes the door. Soma frowns and was about to call out to her before deciding against it and gets into bed.

Outside, Cello looks at her still trembling hands. ' _Guess it's another sleepless night for me. There's no way I'll be able to fall asleep again after that nightmare,_ ' she thinks to herself before walking back to her room to get ready for the day.

-ooo-

A little over an hour later, Cello finds herself in the lobby, clad in her trademark Rocky Plaid Shirt and Battle Bottom: Black. Her short, somewhat gray hair was hidden under her hat with cat-ears, which she seemed to like a lot. Hibari had just arrived and was just preparing herself when she notices Cello sitting at the side. "Oh, good morning Cello. You're up early again,"

Cello just smiles as she walks towards Hibari. There was, after all, no way she was telling the girl she had only gotten around an hour of sleep before waking up because of her nightmare. "Are there any missions available?"

Hibari begins typing on her keyboard. It takes about a minute before a result comes up. "There's one extermination mission in the Old City. It's just some Ogretails but their signal is a little bit different," Hibari explains.

"Okay. I'll take it,"

"Alright. I'll notify the chopper right away," Hibari says and begins typing on her keyboard again. Cello receives a notification that she has accepted the mission. Smiling her goodbye to Hibari, Cello goes up the stairs and heads to the terminal to withdraw her items. Satisfied with her items, she heads to the God Arc storage and sees Licca busy working on one of the God Arcs.

"Good morning Licca," Cello greets the girl while walking towards her own God Arc.

Licca looks up. "Oh, good morning Cello. You're early today,"

Cello pouts. "Is it so weird for me to be early?"

Licca chuckles and shakes her head. "A bit out of character, that's all,"

Cello smiles before waving goodbye and heads to the chopper hangar. It takes about 10 minutes before the chopper finishes getting ready and leaves for the Old City.

-ooo-

Soma wakes up with a slight headache and chill. Disregarding them as the result of sleeping late and drinking a beer before bed, Soma looks at the clock. 8AM. Groaning, he gets out of bed and takes out a can of iced coffee from the small fridge and drinking it. He takes his tie from the counter and ties it before wearing his jacket and pulling up his hood. He leaves his room and looks at Cello's door, wondering if the girl was up. Deciding she needed the extra sleep, he leaves the Veteran floor and heads to the lobby.

-ooo-

"What do you mean 'missing?' How can she be missing?" Soma hears Lindow's voice the moment the elevator doors open. He looks over to the counter and sees the First Unit as well as Tsubaki surrounding a worried-looking Hibari.

Hibari looks down at her monitor before returning her gaze to the people in front of her. "Her biometric signal is still active, which means she's alright. However, she has somehow disappeared from the map,"

"But how can she just disappear?" Alisa asks, her hands slightly trembling.

Soma approaches the group. "What's wrong?"

"Cello is missing," Kota tells him. Soma's eyes widen. _Cello was missing?_ But how could she be missing? They had just seen each other a few hours ago. "Apparently, she went on a mission to hunt some Ogretails…,"

"That shouldn't be too hard on her," Soma mutters.

Hibari looks down. "Yes. But on her way back to the Den, the chopper was attacked by an unknown assailant. I still can't determine whether the attacker was an Aragami or not. However, after a slight disturbance, Cello disappears from the grid. Although her biometric signal is still active, there is no way to know where she is," Hibari says.

Tsubaki frowns. "There is still chance that Cello is safe somewhere near the Old City. Alright, I'm sending you on a search mission. Lindow, Sakuya and Soma, you head out to the Old City to search for her. Alisa and Kota, you are to stay here and act as back-up. Remember, there is no guarantee that the attacker is an Aragami. If it isn't, do not engage in combat. You are to report immediately if she is found. Understood?"

"Yes" Lindow and Sakuya chorus. Soma just furrows his eyebrows when he feels a hand on his shoulder. "She'll be fine," Lindow smiles before he walks away.

' _She better be_ ,' Soma thinks to himself.

-ooo-

The chopper ride to the Old City was filled with tension and awkward consoling; mostly on the part of Lindow and Sakuya. Soma had his fists balled and was gritting his teeth, as if he was ready to jump out of the chopper at any given moment.

"Calm down, Soma," Lindow finally says. Soma only grunts in response but doesn't show any sign of calming down. How could he, after all? It was his leader they were talking about _– his_. The one person who never backed down and cowered away even when he glared at her and pushed her away. The one person who pushed herself into his wall as if she always belonged there. The one person who shared a special place in his heart, right beside Shio – wait, _what_? His leader has a special place in his heart? Since when did he think of her like that? "Hey. Hey, Soma,"

"What?" Soma glares at Lindow who was busy waving his hand in front of Soma's face.

Lindow only smiles and backs away. "We're here,"

As if on cue, the ruins of the Old City makes its way into their view. Without even waiting for the chopper to land, Soma grabs his God Arc and jumps from the chopper, ignoring the cries of Sakuya for him to wait for them. Lindow only chuckles and places his left hand on his wife's shoulder. ' _Soma has gone such a long way_ ,' Lindow thinks to himself. "Well, I guess we should go as well. Let's split up to cover more ground," he instructs. Sakuya nods and the two of them jump off the chopper.

Soma huffs as he finishes another stray Ogretail. There weren't any reports on Aragami appearing in the Old City but he decides to ignore these distractions and simply eliminate them without another thought. Soma grips his Evil One tighter and grits his teeth as he starts running again. He was just rounding a corner when he sees movement to his right. He looks and points his blade towards it only to find Lindow with both his hands raised. "Woah, calm down. It's just me,"

"Sorry," Soma says and brings his blade down and was about to start running again when Lindow stops him.

"Sakuya found something. We should head over,"

"But-,"

"No buts. Come on," Lindow says and begins jogging away. Soma sighs but follows him. The two of them start running and after rounding a few corners, they come face to face with Sakuya who was waiting for them. "Sorry we're late. So, what is it?"

Sakuya nods and ushers for them to follow her. The walk a few meters before arriving at the spot. The sight slightly surprises Lindow and Soma. In front of them was the crashed chopper, its burned remains still recognizable. The chopper was at the bottom of a crater created by the Aragami way before. "Don't tell me-," Lindow says but pauses, not wanting to finish his sentence.

"Calm down," Sakuya says, breaking their thoughts. "If you look closely, the doors were opened manually and not because it crashed. One way or another, Cello and the driver both made it out before the chopper crashed. And look over there," she says and points towards the tail of the chopper.

"Footprints," Soma says.

"Exactly. They're still slightly fresh, meaning; Cello or the driver has made their way back here to probably salvage for anything," Sakuya explains.

Lindow frowns. "But how did the chopper crash?"

"I'm not really sure since it's pretty much charred by the fire. I can see some slashes made by an Aragami, however, there also seems to be burn marks made by bullets. I don't think they were made by Cello though since these seem to be a different kind of shot. It seems like whoever was shooting was aiming for the Aragami," Sakuya says as she takes a closer look at the marks on the chopper.

"So they're alive?" Soma asks, a hint of hope lacing his voice.

"The chance is high, lower though, if one of them is injured and even lower if its Cello who's injured. However-," Sakuya hesitates.

"What is it?" Lindow asks.

"There is a chance of a third party. Like I said, I don't think Cello was the one who shot the bullets," Sakuya says after a moment of hesitation.

The three of them fall into a tense silence when they hear voices coming from behind them. They tense up and prepare themselves when they follow the voices and find Cello, the chopper pilot and an unknown male standing in front of a dead Sariel. Soma could feel relief wash over him as he sees that Cello was alive and well but it was soon replaced by anger as he sees the unknown male's next move; he was reaching for Cello. Soma didn't know what came over him as he rushed towards the group and stands in between Cello and the male.

Cello's eyes widen at the sight. "Soma?" she asks as Soma towers over her in a protective manner. "What are you doing?"

Soma turns to her and grabs her shoulders. "I should be asking that to _you_. What the hell were you thinking?"

"Huh?" Cello tilts her head. "What's wrong?" Soma looks at her and without realizing his actions, pulls Cello into a hug. "Um…,"

"I thought you were gone. You were missing, Cello," Soma says, his voice barely a whisper as he bury his head on Cello's shoulder.

Cello gives a soft smile and lightly strokes Soma's back. "I'm sorry for making you worry," she says and gives her thanks to both Sakuya and Lindow as well who gives her smiles.

Lindow gives Soma a few more minutes before clearing his throat, prompting Soma to open his eyes and abruptly back away from Cello, immediately regretting it as he starts missing the warmth from Cello. Lindow chuckles at Soma's expression before turning his attention to the unknown male who had been quiet the whole time. "So…who are you?" he asked in his usual, nonchalant way but one could not miss the slight hostility in his voice.

Cello widens her eyes when realization hits her. "Oh. This is a friend," Her words obviously surprises the three who all widen their eyes. "Well, sort of…,"

The unknown boy finally steps forward towards them. "I'm from the American branch. My name is Silla,"

"The American branch?"

Silla nods. "I was sent here as a representative. Apparently, our old man of a director thought it'd nice to send one of us here; where the Aragami seemed to 'gather,'" he explains.

Cello nods. "And he's a friend,"

"How so?" Sakuya asks.

"Hm, how am I supposed to explain this? Remember how I'm from an orphanage? Well, originally, I was in an orphanage in America, before getting sent here. I spent about 6-7 years there, I think," Cello explains.

"And he's from the same orphanage?"

"Not exactly," it was Silla who answers. "But the American branch is not as big as you think. Sooner or later, we were bound to bump into each other,"

Cello nods. "Yeah, and during that time, Silla here had both his eyes," she jokes. Silla just shakes his head. "Though we didn't really keep in touch. It's the first time I've seen him in years,"

"Well how was I supposed to keep in touch? Send letters?" Silla asks, sarcasm in his voice.

"Why not?" Cello sticks her tongue out at him who flicks her forehead.

Soma, who was watching the whole exchange, feels anger bubbling inside him. ' _Why are they acting so close?'_ It irked him, irritated him, that another male was acting chummy with Cello – _wait, where did_ that _come from?_

"Hey, you okay Soma?" Lindow asks him, his Aragami arm on Soma's shoulder (though it was mostly out of politeness that Lindow asks, him already knowing the answer).

"Yeah,"

"Well…," Sakuya begins. "I think we should head on back. We still need to get you guys checked up,"

-ooo-

Soma cannot explain why, but his temper is starting to rise as time passes. _Who the hell is this guy? Why is he acting so close to her?_ These were questions that have been plaguing Soma's mind but of course, kept them to himself. _And why is that idiot acting so close to him?_

Lindow, who had been silently watching Soma's inner battle to control his expression couldn't not resist giving a few chuckles here and there in between of his puffing out of smoke.

"But really-," Prof. Sakaki begins. "I appreciate the American branch Director sending us you, Silla,"

"That's right, Prof. Sakaki, you haven't explain _exactly_ why Silla's here," Lindow says.

Sakaki nods his head. "Well, it's more of an experiment, really. And of course, since Silla is here, we have to send one of ours over there as well. Sort of an exchange,"

Soma's eyes widen. "You don't mean…,"

Sakaki looks at him, his ever present cat-smile gracing his face. "Alisa has flown over to the American branch shortly after you left. Well, not without complaints about how she has to be here when her leader arrives, of course," he teases Cello who only sheepishly scratch her neck.

At the revelation, Soma feels his cheeks flush. _What was I thinking? Of course she won't be sent there. Why did I have to voice that out?_ Soma groans to himself – at least, he thought so but with another half Aragami in the room, there was no way for him to go unheard, just by someone he least expected it from.

"Why are you groaning, Soma Schicksal? Do you think this Alisa girl is in the wrong hands with the American branch?" Silla asks from beside Sakaki and a few meters away from Soma who was visibly shocked by how he had heard him, clearly, if he might add.

Cello looks at the two, clearly surprised – both by Soma's reaction and Silla's hearing. Lindow and Sakuya seemed confused but Sakaki only had his usual face. "Oh, did I forget to mention, Soma? Cello?" he says, attracting the attention of the two. "You're being put into the experimental unit with Silla; _for more reasons than one_ ,"

-ooo-

Cello swallows as the room falls into a tensed atmosphere. It was so tensed that she could almost cut it with a knife. She eyes the two males; Soma was sitting beside her, his arms and legs crossed while he looks at anywhere but in front. Silla was opposite them, leaning on the counter that divided the bed and the small living room. She sighs. "So, I guess we're in a unit now, huh?" she says in an attempt to lighten up the atmosphere. However, it seemed as if her words fell on deaf ears.

As if sensing her dilemma, Cello's phone suddenly rings. "Hello?" she greets the person on the next line. "…okay, I understand. Thank you Hibari," she chirps before putting down her phone.

"What is it?" it was Soma who asks.

"Well, um, unit. We just got our mission. Let's go," she says as she gets up and starts walking towards her cabinet before stopping and eyeing the two boys. "Aren't you going out? Or do you want to see me change that bad?" she teases and before she can even blink, the two boys are out.

Cello just shakes her head and opens up her cabinet. She takes out her Black Battle Uniform and puts it on while opting to not put on her trademark cat-ears cap. When she gets out, she sees Soma leaning by his door and Silla sitting near the elevator. "Thank you for waiting," she smiles before her expression turns serious – her 'leader face' as the members fondly called it. "Let's go,"

-ooo-

"Can you watch where you're shooting?" Soma grits his teeth as Silla as he stands up from getting blown away by the latter's bullets.

Silla in turn, glares at him. "Well if you didn't get in my way, I wouldn't hit you,"

Cello groans. It was supposed to be an easy mission; just one stray Sariel. It shouldn't have taken the three of them more than 15 minutes, half Aragami or not and yet, they were almost out of time and it was starting to piss her off.

She stares at the boys to see them at each other's throats again. Finally running out of patience, she fires a mortar at them, blowing them away. "What…?" they both say in annoyance.

"Look!" she says, her voice stern and angry. "I don't care about your stupid argument but can we _please_ finish this job before anything else? Or better yet, can you _leave_ and let me do my job in peace?!" she finishes just as she catches sight of the Sariel rounding the corner near them. As if on a blind rage, she starts shooting bullets at it, while feeding herself OP pills. The two boys just gawk at her as she runs towards the Sariel and takes it down. Without another word, she starts hacking and slashing away on the Sariel, destroying it's legs, followed by it's skirt, and finally, it's head. A moment later, they get the announcement that the Sariel has been defeated.

"Tsk," Cello grits her teeth, her face covered with sweat and blood, both from her and the Sariel.

-ooo-

Meanwhile, Sakaki grins as he turns the monitor off, having only finished watching the unit's mission. He looks to his right and sees Tsubaki who had a frown on her face. "Well, what do you think?"

"I think it's not a good decision," Tsubaki says, her voice serious.

Sakaki chuckles and leans back on his chair. "Maybe. But I think it'll do them more good than bad,"

-ooo-

The chopper ride back to the Den was a tensed one, the only difference was that it was Cello who was giving the ominous aura. Soma frowns and looks out the window. ' _Why is she mad at_ me _for? It's his fault.'_ He sighs. ' _Okay, maybe I'm at fault too, but still.'_ "Tsk," he looks at Cello and sees her biting her nails. ' _She's really pissed_.' He watches as he starts biting her thumb. "Hey," he says, pulling her hand away from her lips.

Cello clearly isn't pleased with it. "What?!"

"You're bleeding,"

And sure enough, on Cello's thumb was a thin, red line. She shakes Soma's hand away and shoves her hand into her pocket. She doesn't say a word after this. Even when they reach the Den, she wordlessly enter the elevator and heads to the last place he thought she'd go – _the laboratory._

-ooo-

Sakuya frowns as she takes Cello's hand into hers. "These shouldn't have opened up again, Cello. Unless…," she says after she examines the younger's hand.

Cello takes her hand and lightly bandages it. "It's nothing, Sakuya. They were old scars after all, so there's no erasing them even with the enhancements. I must have scratched myself during that mission," she says, dismissing any other talk regarding her scars. ' _They're nothing. Just an ugly remembrance of my past.'_ After all, there was no way Cello was telling Sakuya she had begun cutting herself again.

-ooo-

Soma sighs for the umpteenth time that night. He was leaning against his door, silently waiting for Cello to come out of her room. The girl had been avoiding him as best as she could, going as far as not going to dinner. It was pissing Soma off, to say at the least. Soma finally decides to give up for the night and had just opened his door when he sees Cello coming out of her room.

"…Cello," Unlike what he had expected, Cello had met his eyes. Although she had visibly calmed down, she was still pretty angry. "Look…,"

Cello turns her head away. "That mission could have ended a lot sooner,"

Soma takes a deep breath and calms himself down. ' _Why is she only taking it out on_ me?' "It's not just my fault," he had tried to keep his voice as monotonous as he could.

Cello throws her hands up. "You're acting like children!"

This clearly snaps Soma as he grabs Cello's hands, pulls her into his room and pushes her against the now locked door. "Do you want me to show you how I'm not a child?" Soma says, his voice deep and almost a whisper as he tightens his grip on Cello's wrists.

Cello flinches but keeps her ground. "You're hurting me Soma…," she trails off as she looks up and stares into Soma's own blue eyes. The usually cool eyes were filled with unknown emotion. There was a certain spark in them that scared Cello.

Soma, on the other hand, had completely lost his cool. He slowly lowers himself until his and Cello's faces were only a few centimeters apart, his lips slightly above the girl's. Half Aragami or not, Soma was still a head taller and a lot stronger than Cello. She knew she had no way of breaking free from his grip.

Without wanting to, a single tear drops from Cello's eye. This catches Soma's attention and as if awoken from being hypnotized, he lightly releases his grip on Cello's wrist. He leans into Cello's shoulder and places his head between her neck and shoulder. "I'm sorry…," he whispers.

Cello starts trembling. She grabs Soma by the shoulders and forcefully pushes him off of her before storming out of his room and into hers. ' _She's crying_.' Soma grits his teeth and curses himself. He brings his hand to his face and notices a faint tint of red. ' _Blood?'_ It was definitely not his.

In her room, Cello leans against her door for support. She brings her hand to her face and sees the wounds from earlier had re-opened. She bites back a cry as she removes her bandage and sees that one of the bigger cuts had grown. "Damn…,"

-ooo-

Lindow puffs out a smoke and leans away from the door. Although unintentional, he had heard the whole exchange between the two younger God Eaters. He had expected a fight, but he hadn't expected for Soma to lose his cool. He had a feeling things were going to go downhill between the two. "There's no one to blame but Soma for thinking too much," he mutters to himself.

Sakuya looks up from her book. "What is it?"

Lindow looks at his wife and sighs. "I guess it's time to tell you, Sakuya,"

"Tell me what?"

Lindow puffs out another cloud of smoke. "The real reason why Prof. Sakaki brought Silla here,"

Sakuya nods, urging him to continue. "The story about Silla and Cello knowing each other during their childhood is true. However, it's not the same story. You know that Cello's like Soma, right?" At this, Sakuya nods. "Well, Silla's one as well, at least, slightly. While Soma and Cello were born with the Bias Factor imbedded into them, Silla had to take it to save his life when he was a kid. It was a miracle that he survived the procedure, they say. Cello doesn't know this since she doesn't have memories of her childhood, but before she was transferred to an orphanage here in the Far East, Cello had a family. No. _Has,"_

Sakuya widens her eyes. "You mean…,"

"Silla is Cello's older, biological brother. Silla knows this and has been searching for her for years. When he heard about her being in the Far East, he immediately requested for her transfer. It was around the time she had just become a leader, I think," Lindow says.

"Does that mean he wants to take her back?"

Lindow shakes his head. "Silla doesn't want Cello to know they're siblings. He's happy with just seeing her and knowing she's alive and well. Also…," Lindow trails off, a somewhat teasing smirk on his face.

"What is it?"

"Apparently, Silla's also here to test if Soma's the right person for Cello,"

-ooo-

Soma wakes up with a headache and a bit of a cold. He could also feel his throat aching but dismisses it as a result of the weather. He had just removed his shirt when he suddenly sees the room spin before his vision goes black.

-ooo-

 _Soma opens his eyes and sees that he's in a dark room. There was no light and he could barely see his hand in front of him._ What is this place? _He tries to walk forward but notices that his feet were bound by some sort of chain. He tries to feel for the chain but fails to find where it's connected. Realizing that trying to move is futile, Soma plops down._ "Hello," _he calls out but except for the echo of his own voice, he hears nothing._

 _Time moves, Soma feels, but he doesn't know how fast. He could feel the chain binding him tighten with every second it's locked on his feet. He tries to feel for the chain once again when he feels something on his hand; another hand. He looks up and sees Cello's face; translucent and thin, but still her._ "Cello…," _he calls out to her. He looks at her eyes, they were dull and unfocused._ "What's wrong?" _he asks her as he sees tears spilling from her eyes. He fights the urge to wipe them away._

 _Cello doesn't move._ "Hey…," _he tries again when suddenly, as if by some invisible force, Cello starts getting pulled away from him and no matter how hard Soma grabs her, she starts slipping until she disappears and Soma's left alone once again._

"You let go," _he hears a voice saying, over and over, as if it was a broken CD._ "You let her go and now look at what's happened," _the voice continue._

"No…," _Soma tries to speak but feels his energy gone._

"She trusted you and you let her go. You left her all alone to fight all the demons eating her inside. You let her go mad…," _the voice says._

"NO!" Soma jolts awake, his head wet with sweat. He looks at his trembling hands. He looks around him and notices that he was in his room, and that Cello was sitting by the foot of his bed. The moment their eyes meet, Soma pulls her into his arms and buries his head on her shoulder.

Cello, although surprised, allows him to hug her as she gently strokes Soma's hair and waits for him to stop trembling. When he finally does, she moves away from him and stands up to walk towards the counter. "Here," she says as she gives him medicine and a glass of water. "For that headache,"

Soma nods his thanks before taking the medicine. Immediately, he could already feel his headache subside, although slightly. "What happened?"

"You were out with a cold," Cello replies and sits on the edge of Soma's bed again. "It's been 2 days,"

Soma nods. He notices a bucket beside his bed and a small cloth hanging on it. He also notices the numerous medicine wrappers. "You were unstable for a few hours, but the good news is, your cold is gone," he hears Cello say. Cello sighs. "Look…,"

"I'm sorry," Soma says, stopping Cello mid-sentence and looking at her directly in the eyes. "It was my fault. I snapped and hurt you. I'm sorry," he says, his voice deep and almost a whisper but Cello could feel the sincerity in it.

Cello turns away and for a moment, Soma was scared she wasn't going to forgive him when she turns to him again but with a slight smile on her face and a shake of her head. "No. It's my fault. I pushed you over the edge and made you angry. I'm…I'm sorry," she says and scratches her neck.

Soma gives her a small smile. "So, um…," Cello stutters. "Friends?"

At the word, Soma could feel his chest hurt but ignores it as an effect of his cold. "Yeah,"

The two fall into a comfortable silence, at least, until Lindow bursts into Soma's room. "Hey!" he greets when he notices Soma sitting up. "You're finally up! I guess Cello's taken good care of you. She hasn't left your side since-mffm," Lindow stops as Cello runs over him and covers his mouth to stop him from continuing his sentence with a blush on her face.

Soma, however, pieces two and two together and feels his cheeks grow hot. ' _She's been taking care of me,_ ' he thinks to himself and feels happy with the thought.

Cello finally removes her hand on Lindow's mouth and pouts at him. "Alright. Alright. I'm sorry," he says teasingly.

"What are you doing here, though?" Cello asks him.

Lindow's eyebrows rise. "Oh, that's right. I'm here to tell you that Silla has arrived back to the American branch safely,"

Soma's ears perk at the mention of Silla's name. "He left?"

Lindow nods. "Apparently, Sakaki's experiment was over so he went back. Alisa should be back later as well,"

At the news, Soma could feel relief wash over him. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. Lindow looks at him with a slight smirk. "That and I'm here to take Cello away,"

At this, Soma's attention falls on Lindow. "What?"

Cello's eyes widen. "Oh. I almost forgot,"

"What?" Soma says, waiting for answers.

"Just a mission. Don't get so worked up," Lindow teases as he watch Cello walk over to Soma.

"You should go to sleep and by the time you wake up, you should be all well. But you still need to drink medicine so when you wake up, you drink it. I'll place this on the counter. Don't forget to drink your medicine. Also, Tsubaki said you're not allowed to leave your room so just stay here. We'll be back," and with that, Lindow and Cello leave for their mission.

-ooo-

A couple of tablets and a few hours of sleep later, Soma finally fully recovers from his cold, at least, he feels fine. However, his worrywart of a leader says so otherwise. "Look…,"

At the sound of his voice, Cello's head goes up and she meets his eyes. "Look, Soma, nothing you say will change my mind. I'm only following Tsubaki's orders," she says before returning to the book she was reading.

This makes Soma frown. Not getting another word out of the girl, he plops down to his bed and starts shifting left to right. "I'm gonna die of boredom," he says a minute later. He hears Cello close her book and sigh. Knowing he had caught the girl's attention, he sits up from his bed so that they were looking at each other.

"Well then…," Cello begins, slightly hesitating. "Mind telling me about your dream earlier?" she asks carefully, knowing she's treading on foreign land. It had always been the other way around and Soma's dreams were a topic they didn't really discuss.

Cello sees the slight discomfort on Soma's face and immediately regrets her question. "Look-,"

However, Soma cuts her off. "No. I'll tell you. I dreamt about you," he says, his eyes looking straight at hers. At his words, Cello could feel her heart beat faster and her cheeks redden. Fortunately, Soma doesn't notice this as he looks down to his hands. "I left you. Hurting. You were hurting because of me; because I was weak. I was scared. And then, I let go. I let you go. I let you fall into the darkness; into your own demons. It was all my fault and yet I couldn't do anything to save you. I-," Soma pauses as tears start falling from his eyes. At this, Cello moves towards Soma and engulfs him in a hug, lightly stroking his back. Soma hugs her back as he buries his face on her shoulder. "I can't lose you too," he whispers, his voice low and soft but enough for Cello to hear him clearly.

She hushes him in a calm tone. "I'm not going anywhere,"

-ooo-


End file.
